Edition difference visualization

ABSTRACT

Differences between editions of items, such as books, can be determined and information about those difference provided for display to a user. The information can include a difference score, for example, that indicates an overall level of difference between the editions. This can include a percentage difference in some embodiments, considering the overall differences or differences for portions considered to be significant. In other embodiments contextual information, weightings, and other factors can be used to attempt to generate a similarity (or difference) score that will be of more use to a potential consumer, where the consumer can determine the substantive differences between the versions and determine whether the difference in price justifies the extent of the differences. The consumer in some embodiments can also view the differences, or at least a subset or information about the differences.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of, and accordingly claims thebenefit of, allowed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/887,767, filedwith the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Oct. 20, 2015, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Authors and publishers of books, and other such media, often publish orprovide new versions or editions of their books. When a potentialcustomer is attempting to purchase one of these books, the customermight have the option of purchasing the current edition or a prioredition. The cost difference between the current edition and the prioredition may be significant, such that for customers such as studentswith limited funds, a customer may prefer to purchase an earlier editionif the differences between the editions are relatively minor. It willoften be difficult for the customer to determine the type and extent ofthe differences between the books, particularly if the books areelectronic books, or “e-books,” offered from a provider such that thecustomer cannot first obtain and compare the books. Customers can thusend up spending more money than desired to ensure that they haveadequate content from the current version, or may end up disappointedwith an earlier version when the extent of the changes is significant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate example differences in content betweenversions of an electronic book that can be analyzed in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate example displays for indicating informationabout differences between versions that can be generated in accordancewith various embodiments.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate example displays for indicating informationabout differences between versions that can be generated in accordancewith various embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example environment that can be used to implementaspects of the various embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example process for determining differencesbetween editions that can be utilized in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example process for providing informationregarding differences between editions that can be utilized inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example process for providing customers withmultiple versions of specified content that can be utilized inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example computing device that can be utilized inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example configuration of components of a computingdevice, such as the device illustrated in FIG. 8 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods in accordance with various embodiments of thepresent disclosure may overcome one or more of the aforementioned andother deficiencies experienced in conventional approaches to managingcontent having multiple versions or editions. In particular, variousembodiments attempt to determine a quantitative and/or qualitativedifference between editions and provide that difference to a potentialconsumer, such that the consumer can determine which version or editionto obtain. In some embodiments, the content of different editions isanalyzed to determine the extent of the differences, such as apercentage of the content that is different. Some embodiments alsoattempt to determine qualitative differences between the editions, suchas the types of differences or how much the types of differences mightimpact a potential use of the content. Further still, some embodimentsgenerate a difference score that attempts to combine the quantitativeand qualitative aspects to a single piece of information that apotential consumer can use to determine which edition to consume (i.e.,purchase, rent, download, lease, or borrow) by considering the relativescores of the editions and the relative prices of those editions, amongother such information.

Various other functions and advantages are described and suggested belowas may be provided in accordance with the various embodiments.

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate corresponding example pages of content thatcan be contained within different editions of the same text, in thiscase provided through an e-book file or other such offering. In thefirst example 100 of FIG. 1A, a page of text 104 is displayed on adisplay 102 of a computing device. The page includes information such asa page header 106 with the name of the book and chapter of the page,body text or prose 108 for the current page of content, and questions orexercises 110, such as may be included in a text book for a class orprogram. It should be understood that e-books differ from physical booksin various ways, such as in the fact that the contents of a given pagemay not be fixed, but may vary based upon factors such as screen size orresolution, font size, user notations, and other such factors. Thus,when discussing “pages” of content it should be understood that the pagemay not be a physical or fixed subset of the content. When comparingeditions of texts, such differences may be excluded in at least someembodiments in order to focus on substantive differences that may impactthe value or use of the book, such as the ability of a student to use anold edition for a specific class.

The example 150 of FIG. 1B illustrates a corresponding page of a currentversion of the text. The current edition contains various differenceswith respect to the earlier version. For example, the title of the bookin the header includes a difference 154 indicating the differentedition. While this is an actual difference between the editions, it maynot be considered a substantive difference that would significantlyimpact the usefulness of the edition. Similar differences may correspondto cover art, a foreword or introduction, publication data, criticalreviews, and the like. Thus, when discussing which differences toinclude in various approaches herein, such differences may be excludedfrom the information surfaced to the potential customer. Anotherdifference 156 resides in the prose or body text of the editions. Insome embodiments a process may be utilized to attempt to determine thecontext of the difference in order to determine an effect of the change,while in other embodiments any changes to the body text can beconsidered significant and included in the difference determination.Still other differences 158, 160 relate to differences in the exercisesor questions. For students that will have homework based on thequestions that may be graded, it can be very important that the studenteither have the current exercises or understand that the student willneed to obtain or verify the exercises from another student or source.Thus, changes to exercises, questions, or other such portions of a textmay be considered very significant, and in some embodiments may beweighted more heavily than changes to the body text. When surfacinginformation about the type of changes in some embodiments, it may beextremely valuable to surface information about changes to theexercises, whether they be changes to specific names and numbers as inone example 158, whereby the student may still learn the appropriateinformation, or whether the question is an entirely new question as inthe other example 160.

Upon determining difference information as discussed herein, a providerof an electronic marketplace or other such source of content can provideat least some of the difference information, or a summary of thedifference information, to a potential customer interested in at leastone of the editions. It should be understood that similarityinformation, as opposed to difference information, can be used as wellwithin the scope of the various embodiments, as the similarity data willgenerally be complementary to the difference data and can be determinedusing similar algorithms or processes, etc. Further, although books areused as examples herein, it should be understood that various othertypes of content or items with different editions or versions canutilize advantages of the various embodiments as well, such as may beuseful for audio books, movies or other video files, music or otheraudio files, video games, and the like. For example, the example 200 ofFIG. 2 illustrates an example page of content, such as a search resultpage or comparison page, where a potential consumer can view informationabout two or more editions of a book. In this example, information 202for a current edition of the book is displayed, where the informationincludes information such as the title and author of the book,publication date, and price, among other such information. Theinformation also indicates that the edition is the current edition, suchthat the potential consumer can understand that if the consumer isworried about changes to the book, or otherwise just wants the mostup-to-date copy, the consumer might want to purchase this editionindependent of whether the current edition is significantly moreexpensive than a prior edition.

Also displayed is information 204 for a previous edition of the book.This information again includes basic information such as title, author,publication date, and price. Along with the basic information isinformation 206 about the edition of the book and the differences fromthe current edition. In this example, the information 206 indicates thatthe book is a prior edition, and that the content of the book is 95%current with the current edition. This number can be determined in anumber of different ways as discussed and suggested herein. Thepresentation also includes a graphical element 208 that can provide somelevel of safety or recommendation to the consumer about whether or notto purchase that edition. For example, in this case where the edition is95% current the icon might be green, indicating that it is likely safeto purchase this edition. The information used to make suchdetermination can include contextual and other information in additionto the percentage difference in at least some embodiments. This examplemight cause the icon to be displayed with a yellow light if thedifferences are in a certain range, such as between 80% and 90% current,or can be displayed with a red light if the book is less than 80%current. These numbers can be set by any appropriate entity, such as theprovider of the electronic marketplace, a book provider, a user, etc.Further, the numbers or thresholds might vary based upon user feedback,type of content, types of differences, or other such information. Forexample, if books with a difference of 80-85% have a higher than averagereturn frequency, then the threshold for a red light might be adjustedto correspond to content with more than an 85% difference. In someembodiments the differences in price might be considered with thedifference in content to provide a value determination as to whether theconsumer would be better off buying the current edition, etc.

Similar information can be provided when a page of information is beingdisplayed for a single book or object, such as is displayed in theexample 250 of FIG. 2B. In this example, similar basic information 252is displayed regarding the title, author, and the like. The individualpage can also include information 254 about the particular edition, hereagain presenting the difference from the current version, informationabout the difference, etc. In some embodiments, the informationdisplayed can include contextual information 256 as well, which canbetter enable a potential consumer to determine whether to buy thisedition or a different edition. In this example the information includesa breakdown of the types of changes that were located between the twoeditions. In this case, the example breaks down changes that were foundin the exercises, the prose or body content, in the images or tables,and other miscellaneous changes, such as to the title or cover, etc. Theinformation also breaks down the relative percentages of these changes,such that the user can better understand the nature of the changes andhow much the changes might impact the usefulness of the particularedition. In this example, the display also includes a link 258, althoughother mechanisms can be used as well, to cause additional informationabout the differences to be displayed. In this case, the link providesan option to display some or all of the differences located between theversions. In some embodiments all differences may be able to be viewed,while in other embodiments certain samples or portions may be able to bedisplayed as may be determined by various contract provisions, fair use,the extent of the changes, or other such factors.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate example ways in which the differences can bepresented to a user in accordance with various embodiments. In theexample display 300 of FIG. 3A, a side-by-side comparison of pages ofthe books 302, 304 is displayed such that the user can actuallydetermine the differences between the editions. In this example thedetected changes are highlighted in order to enable the user to moreeasily locate and determine the differences. In some embodiments thedetected differences can have tags or other elements enabling a user tocycle through the changes, in order to more quickly determine the typesof changes and the extent to which those changes affect the usefulnessof each edition. FIG. 3B illustrates another example display 350 thatcan be presented to a user in accordance with various embodiments. Inthis example, the changes are listed out for the user, with the changedcontent visible to the user. This can also quickly enable a potentialconsumer to view the type and extent of the changes in order todetermine, for example, whether the cost savings of buying an earlieredition is worth the changes between editions, etc. In some embodimentsthe listed changes can be linked to the individual pages for comparison.In still other embodiments the list can be sorted or filtered to displaycertain types of changes, such as to view all the changes to theexercises or prose. For example, a consumer might be able to filter soas to be able to view all of the changes to the exercises in one place,in order to determine whether the consumer thinks he or she can besuccessful in a class that utilizes the current edition, or whether theextent is such that the consumer might be able to obtain thatinformation from a classmate or other such source.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an environment 400 that can be used todetermine and/or surface information about differences between versionsor editions that can be utilized in accordance with various embodiments.In this example, a client computing device 402 can submit a request forcontent across at least one network 404 to be received by a contentprovider environment 408. This can include, for example, a request froma potential consumer wanting to obtain information about a version oredition of an item, such as a physical book or e-book, among other typesof devices.

In this example, a request received to the resource provider environment408 can be received by an interface layer 410 of the environment. Asknown for network environments, the interface layer can includecomponents such as interfaces (e.g., APIs), load balancers, requestand/or data routers, and the like. If the request is a request forcontent, such as for information about an object to be displayed in anapplication or Web browser, for example, information for the request canbe directed to one or more content servers 412, which can obtain thecontent from a content data store 414 or other such repository to besent back across the network(s) to the computing device 402. In someembodiments, information for the request might also be compared againstuser data in a user data store 416 or other such location to determine,for example, whether the user has access rights to that content. In oneexample, a consumer might need an account with the content provider inorder to obtain some or all of the content for the request, such as toobtain a view of a portion of an e-book that the consumer has not yetpurchased.

In at least some embodiments, content for the request can be receivefrom various third party publishers 406. This can include, for example,receiving electronic book content from the publisher systems orreceiving digital information for physical books or items offered by thepublishers, among other such options. The interface layer can determinethe type of call or request, and cause information to be forwarded tothe appropriate component or location. In this example, the content canbe stored to a content data store 416, for example, that is accessibleby the content sever 412 in order to serve the appropriate content forthe requests. This example also includes a physical media scanner 422,such as a workstation that is capable of receiving a physical book,magazine, periodical, or other such text, and scan in at least a portionof the content. That content can then be analyzed using variouscomponents, such as an OCR engine and image recognition software, inorder to attempt to determine the content of the text, which can also bestored to the content data store 416 or a separate data store 420 foranalysis, among other such options.

The provider environment 408 can also include a component, system, orservice such as a comparison engine 418 that can analyze content for twoor more editions of a text or other piece of content and attempt todetermine the differences between those editions. As discussed, thecomparison engine (or another component, device, or service) can alsoattempt to quantify the differences, as well as to attempt to determinecontextual information for some or all of the differences. Thecomparison can be done offline in many instances, while in otherinstances the comparison of at least a portion of the versions may bedone in real time or in response to a consumer request, among other suchoptions. For example, a user might be able to flip through page-by-pagecomparisons, and the comparison engine can be tasked with determiningthe changes displayed for each page and providing some type of displayfor those changes. In some embodiments the difference information, oncedetermined, can be stored with content for the editions in the contentdata store 416, such that the difference information can be displayedwith content for the texts as provided by the content server 412 oranother such component. It should be noted that at least some of thecomponents, such as the comparison engine and physical media scanner,can be provided as a service from outside the provider environmentand/or by a third party in at least some embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example process 500 for determining differenceinformation for different editions of the same book (or other instanceof content) that can be utilized in accordance with various embodiments.It should be understood that, for this and other processes discussedherein, there can be additional, fewer, or alternative steps, performedin similar or alternative steps, or in parallel, within the scope of thevarious embodiments unless otherwise stated. In this example, digitalcontent is obtained 502 for a current edition of a book, such as atextbook. As mentioned, the digital content can be obtained by variousmechanisms, such as by receiving the digital content from a publisher orscanning in the content from a physical copy, among other such options.If a digital copy is received, the digital copy may include metadataidentifying types of portions of the book and/or providing contextualinformation. The scanning process can also involve various processes,such as optical character recognition, image recognition, and the like,which can be used to attempt to analyze the content, determine types ofdifferent portions of the content, classify portions of the content,etc. Digital content can also be obtained 504 for a prior edition of thebook, using similar approaches. While this example compares twoeditions, it should be understood that multiple editions can be comparedusing such a process in accordance with various embodiments.

Once the digital content is obtained for both editions the content ofboth editions can be compared 506 to locate differences between the twoeditions. This can include, for example, text matching, image matching,document comparison, and the like, using any of a number of approachesknown or used to compare two instances of digital content. Further, theprocess can involve attempting to determine 508 contextual informationfor at least some of the differences. This can include, for example,determining a type of content (i.e., a title, body text, exercise, ortable) where the difference is located, as well as a type of change(i.e., substantive, formality, insignificant, etc.). The differenceinformation, along with the contextual information for the differences,can be used to generate 510 a difference score for the two editions. Ascore can be generated using other information as well, such aspreviously submitted user reviews, differences in source code forelectronic versions of the books, and the like. In some embodiments,this can include a straightforward percentage difference where theoverall number of characters or words, for example, is compared and thescore is the percentage of those words that is similar (or that isdifferent) between the editions, where “similar” can be defined by theprocess but generally involves a similar type of content with similarphrasing in similar locations in the book. In some embodiments, onlyportions of the book that are determined to be significant orsubstantive may be included in such a determination. Thus, changes toreviews, forwards, chapter titles, and the like may not be included inthe determination, but changes to the body prose, exercises, andexamples may be included in the determination. In some embodiments ascore is generated that can be similar to the percentage similarity, forexample, but where different types of differences are given differentweightings. This can include, for example, a change to a word in anexercise counting two times or more as much to the score as a change toa single word in the body of the text, unless contextual informationdictates otherwise. As mentioned, in some embodiments multiple scorescan be generated, such as an overall score for the editions and aseparate score for the exercises, body text, and/or other such portions.As mentioned, the weighting can also update over time based upon factorssuch as user interaction, content returns, user reviews, and the like.Information for the differences can then be stored 512 and associatedwith the editions. The information can include, for example, the actualdifferences, locations of the differences, types of differences,difference scores, and the like.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example process 600 for surfacing differenceinformation to a potential consumer that can be utilized in accordancewith various embodiments. In this example, a request for edition contentis received 602 from a client device, where the edition content caninclude content for a current edition of a book (or other type ofcontent), a previous edition of a book, a comparison of the twoeditions, a set of search results including those editions, or othersuch content. The content for the request can be located 604 from one ormore appropriate data stores. Along with the content, a determinationcan be made 606 as to whether difference information is available. Ifnot, the content for the request can be provided 608 for display on theclient device. If difference information is available, the differenceinformation can be analyzed 610 and the type of difference informationdetermined 612. This can include, for example, whether the differenceinformation is a difference score, set of scores, includes contextualinformation, includes links to instances of the difference, enables aside by side comparison, etc. Based at least in part upon the type ofdifferences, the content to be provided can be updated or supplemented614 using the difference information, with the type and format of theadditional content based at least in part upon the type and amount ofdifference information available. Once the content is updated orsupplemented as appropriate, the content can be provided for display onthe client device. The client device can then be enabled 616 to obtainadditional information about the differences, such as by a request foradditional information being received from the client device. This caninclude, for example, a request to view the actual differences or anyadditional information about the differences. The client device can alsobe enabled 618 to provide a consumption option to a user of the device,such as to purchase, rent, borrow, or download at least one of theeditions.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example process 700 for an alternative approach toenabling a consumer to compare editions of a book or other type ofobject. In this example, a request is received 702 from a client deviceto provide copies of the book. In response, the editions of the bookscan be determined and located 704 and provided 706 to the user, such asby shipping two or more physical copies to the user, where each copy isa different edition. Along with the physical copies, return information708 can be provided to the user as well. These can be physical returnlabels included in the packaging, for example, or digital optionsdownloadable or otherwise obtainable by the user. The user is thenenabled 710 to compare the editions and determine the edition that theuser wants to keep, and the unwanted books can be received back 712 fromthe user using the return information. Such an approach enables the userto compare the differences, but also enables the user to determine thecondition of each physical copy, such as whether people have written inthe books, whether the books are torn or worn, etc. There may be anadditional charge for such a service, but such an option can enable theuser to determine whether a cheaper but older edition is acceptable,which can save the user money over time. Further, such a process cansave the user the time and hassle of purchasing multiple editions andhaving to manually set up returns of one or more editions, which mighttake a length of time that might not be optical for users such asstudents who are currently enrolled in a class utilizing the book. Insome embodiments, the user may be able to obtain a digital copy of thefirst chapter or two of the book while the book is in shipment, in orderto enable the user to not fall behind in a class or book club, etc.

Another advantage of such an approach is that it can improve theperformance of a computer system and/or a shipping system, among othersuch advantages. For example, enabling a user to quickly and easily viewdifference information can reduce the amount of time and effort the userhas to do research for the items, which can reduce the amount ofresources and bandwidth required for the user session. Further, theproviding of valuable difference information can reduce the number ofreturns and/or new orders, which can reduce the amount of shippingneeded, overhead for returns, overhead for redundant orders, etc.Various other advantages and savings would be experienced as well aswould be obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art in light of theteachings and suggestions contained herein.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example computing device 800 that can be used inaccordance with various embodiments. Although a portable computingdevice (e.g., a smart phone, an electronic book reader, or tabletcomputer) is shown, it should be understood that any device capable ofreceiving and processing input can be used in accordance with variousembodiments discussed herein. The devices can include, for example,desktop computers, notebook computers, electronic book readers, personaldata assistants, cellular phones, video gaming consoles or controllers,wearable computers (e.g., smart watches or glasses), television set topboxes, and portable media players, among others.

In this example, the computing device 800 has a display screen 802 that,under normal operation, will display information to a user (or viewer)facing the display screen (e.g., on the same side of the computingdevice as the display screen). As discussed herein, the device caninclude one or more communication components 804, such as may include acellular communications subsystem, Wi-Fi communications subsystem,BLUETOOTH® communication subsystem, and the like. FIG. 9 illustrates aset of basic components of a computing device 900 such as the device 800described with respect to FIG. 8 . In this example, the device includesat least one processor 902 for executing instructions that can be storedin a memory device or element 904. As would be apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art, the device can include many types of memory,data storage or computer-readable media, such as a first data storagefor program instructions for execution by the at least one processor902, the same or separate storage can be used for images or data, aremovable memory can be available for sharing information with otherdevices, and any number of communication approaches can be available forsharing with other devices. The device typically will include at leastone type of display element 906, such as a touch screen, electronic ink(e-ink), organic light emitting diode (OLED) or liquid crystal display(LCD), although devices such as portable media players might conveyinformation via other means, such as through audio speakers. The devicewill also include one or more power elements 908 or sources, such asrechargeable batteries, battery compartments, wired or wireless poweradapters, and the like. The device can include at least onecommunication component 910, as may enabled wired and/or wirelesscommunication of voice and/or data signals, for example, over a networksuch as the Internet, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, BLUETOOTH®,and the like. The device can include at least one additional inputdevice 912 able to receive conventional input from a user. Thisconventional input can include, for example, a push button, touch pad,touch screen, wheel, joystick, keyboard, mouse, trackball, camera,microphone, keypad or any other such device or element whereby a usercan input a command to the device. These I/O devices could even beconnected by a wireless infrared or Bluetooth or other link as well insome embodiments. In some embodiments, however, such a device might notinclude any buttons at all and might be controlled only through acombination of visual and audio commands such that a user can controlthe device without having to be in contact with the device.

Example environments discussed herein for implementing aspects inaccordance with various embodiments are primarily Web-based, as relateto Web services and cloud computing, but it should be appreciated that,although a Web-based environment is used for purposes of explanation,different environments may be used, as appropriate, to implement variousembodiments. Client devices used to interact with various embodimentscan include any appropriate device operable to send and receiverequests, messages, or information over an appropriate network andconvey information back to a user of the device. Examples of such clientdevices include personal computers, smart phones, handheld messagingdevices, laptop computers, set-top boxes, personal data assistants,electronic book readers, and the like. The network can include anyappropriate network, including an intranet, the Internet, a cellularnetwork, a local area network, or any other such network or combinationthereof. Components used for such a system can depend at least in partupon the type of network and/or environment selected. Protocols andcomponents for communicating via such a network are well known and willnot be discussed herein in detail. Communication over the network can beenabled by wired or wireless connections, and combinations thereof.

Various aspects can be implemented as part of at least one service orWeb service, such as may be part of a service-oriented architecture.Services such as Web services can communicate using any appropriate typeof messaging, such as by using messages in extensible markup language(XML) format and exchanged using an appropriate protocol such as SOAP(derived from the “Simple Object Access Protocol”). Processes providedor executed by such services can be written in any appropriate language,such as the Web Services Description Language (WSDL). Using a languagesuch as WSDL allows for functionality such as the automated generationof client-side code in various SOAP frameworks.

Most embodiments utilize at least one network that would be familiar tothose skilled in the art for supporting communications using any of avariety of commercially-available protocols, such as TCP/IP, FTP, UPnP,NFS, and CIFS. The network can be, for example, a local area network, awide-area network, a virtual private network, the Internet, an intranet,an extranet, a public switched telephone network, an infrared network, awireless network, and any combination thereof.

In embodiments utilizing a Web server, the Web server can run any of avariety of server or mid-tier applications, including HTTP servers, FTPservers, CGI servers, data servers, Java servers, and businessapplication servers. The server(s) also may be capable of executingprograms or scripts in response requests from user devices, such as byexecuting one or more Web applications that may be implemented as one ormore scripts or programs written in any programming language, such asJava®, C, C# or C++, or any scripting language, such as Perl, Python, orTCL, as well as combinations thereof. The server(s) may also includedatabase servers, including without limitation those commerciallyavailable from Oracle®, Microsoft®, Sybase®, and IBM®.

The environment can include a variety of data stores and other memoryand storage media as discussed above. These can reside in a variety oflocations, such as on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) oneor more of the computers or remote from any or all of the computersacross the network. In a particular set of embodiments, the informationmay reside in a storage-area network (“SAN”) familiar to those skilledin the art. Similarly, any necessary files for performing the functionsattributed to the computers, servers, or other network devices may bestored locally and/or remotely, as appropriate. Where a system includescomputerized devices, each such device can include hardware elementsthat may be electrically coupled via a bus, the elements including, forexample, at least one central processing unit (CPU), at least one inputdevice (e.g., a mouse, keyboard, controller, touch screen, or keypad),and at least one output device (e.g., a display device, printer, orspeaker). Such a system may also include one or more storage devices,such as disk drives, optical storage devices, and solid-state storagedevices such as random access memory (“RAM”) or read-only memory(“ROM”), as well as removable media devices, memory cards, flash cards,etc.

Such devices also can include a computer-readable storage media reader,a communications device (e.g., a modem, a network card (wireless orwired), an infrared communication device, etc.), and working memory asdescribed above. The computer-readable storage media reader can beconnected with, or configured to receive, a computer-readable storagemedium, representing remote, local, fixed, and/or removable storagedevices as well as storage media for temporarily and/or more permanentlycontaining, storing, transmitting, and retrieving computer-readableinformation. The system and various devices also typically will includea number of software applications, modules, services, or other elementslocated within at least one working memory device, including anoperating system and application programs, such as a client applicationor Web browser. It should be appreciated that alternate embodiments mayhave numerous variations from that described above. For example,customized hardware might also be used and/or particular elements mightbe implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, suchas applets), or both. Further, connection to other computing devicessuch as network input/output devices may be employed.

Storage media and other non-transitory computer readable media forcontaining code, or portions of code, can include any appropriate mediaknown or used in the art, including storage media and communicationmedia, such as but not limited to volatile and non-volatile, removableand non-removable media implemented in any method or technology forstorage of information such as computer readable instructions, datastructures, program modules, or other data, including RAM, ROM, EEPROM,flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk(DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape,magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othermedium which can be used to store the desired information and which canbe accessed by the a system device. Based on the disclosure andteachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the variousembodiments.

The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense. It will, however, beevident that various modifications and changes may be made thereuntowithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention asset forth in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: underthe control of one or more computer systems configured with executableinstructions, obtaining current digital content for a current edition ofa media object; comparing, using one or more processors of the one ormore computer systems, prior digital content for a prior edition of themedia object to the current digital content to locate at least onedifference between the current digital content and the prior digitalcontent; determining contextual information for at least a subset of theat least one difference, the contextual information including one ormore changes of at least the subset of the at least one difference;generating, using the one or more processors, a difference score withrespect to the current edition and the prior edition, the differencescore representing, at least in part, both an extent of the at least onedifference and the contextual information; receiving a request foredition consumption information; providing the difference score, thedifference score including an indication of whether to obtain the prioredition or the current edition; and providing navigational elementsenabling at least a portion of the at least one difference to bepresented on a remote device.
 2. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein determining the contextual information includesdetermining a location for the differences in the sub set.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising: providing,along with the edition consumption information and the difference score,at least one option enabling a presentation of at least one of a portionof the contextual information or the at least one difference.
 4. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: determininga second difference score with respect to the current edition and asecond prior edition; and providing the second difference score forpresentation with the edition consumption information.
 5. Acomputer-implemented method, comprising: under the control of one ormore computer systems configured with executable instructions, obtainingdigital content for a current edition of a media object and digitalcontent for a prior edition of the media object; analyzing, using one ormore processors of the one or more computer systems, the digital contentfor the current edition and the digital content for the prior edition todetermine at least one difference between the current edition and theprior edition; determining, using the one or more processors, contextualinformation for at least a subset of the at least one difference, thecontextual information including one or more changes of at least thesubset of the at least one difference; generating, using the one or moreprocessors, a difference score with respect to the current edition andthe prior edition, the difference score representing, at least in part,both an extent of the at least one difference and the contextualinformation; receiving a request for edition consumption informationregarding the media object; providing edition difference information,the edition difference information based at least in part on the atleast one difference; and providing navigational elements enabling atleast a portion of the differences between the current edition and theprior edition to be presented on a remote device.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising: determiningthe edition difference information at least in part by determining apercentage of the digital content for the current edition differing fromthe digital content for the prior edition.
 7. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 6, further comprising: determining a type of differencefor each determined difference of the edition difference information,wherein only differences of at least one specified difference type areconsidered for the percentage of the digital content for the currentedition that is different from the digital content for the prioredition.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, furthercomprising: determining the type of difference at least in part byanalyzing metatags included in the digital content for the currentedition or the digital content for the prior edition.
 9. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the media object is oneof an e-book, an audio book, a video file, an audio file, or a videogame.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, furthercomprising: determining respective weightings of the determineddifferences based at least in part upon the contextual information, therespective weightings indicating a relative significance of a respectivedifference.
 11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, furthercomprising: generating new weightings over time for the different typesof differences based at least in part upon at least one of user feedbackor user interaction with content having determined edition differenceinformation.
 12. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, furthercomprising: scanning pages of at least one of the current edition or theprior edition to obtain at least a portion of the digital content forthe current edition or the digital content for the prior edition. 13.The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising: causingboth the current edition and the prior edition to be shipped to anaddress associated with the request; and providing a return optionenabling a return of either the current edition or the prior edition.14. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising:determining, based at least in part upon the determined differencesbetween the current edition and the prior edition, whether the extent ofthe differences falls above or below a determined difference; providingfor presentation a first indicator if the extent of the differencesfalls above the determined difference; and providing for presentation asecond indicator if the extent of the differences falls below thedetermined difference, wherein the first indicator indicates that theprior edition is substantially similar to the current edition and thesecond indicator indicates that the prior edition is substantiallydifferent from the current edition.
 15. A system, comprising: at leastone processor; and memory storing instructions that, when executed bythe at least one processor, cause the system to: obtain digital contentfor a current edition of a media object and digital content for a prioredition of the media object; analyze the digital content for the currentedition and the digital content for the prior edition to determine atleast one difference between the current edition and the prior edition;determine contextual information for at least a subset of the at leastone difference, the contextual information including one or more changesof at least the subset of the at least one difference; generate adifference score with respect to the current edition and the prioredition, the difference score, at least in part, representing both anextent of the at least one difference and the contextual information;receive a request for edition consumption information regarding themedia object; provide edition difference information, the editiondifference information based at least in part on the at least onedifference between the current edition and the prior edition; andprovide navigational elements enabling at least a portion of thedifferences between the current edition and the prior edition to bepresented on a remote device.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein theinstructions when executed cause the system to: determine the editiondifference information at least in part by determining a percentage ofthe digital content for the current edition differing from the digitalcontent for the prior edition.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein theinstructions when executed cause the system to: determine a type ofdifference for each determined difference of the edition differenceinformation, wherein only differences of at least one specifieddifference type are considered for the percentage of the digital contentfor the current edition that is different from the digital content forthe prior edition.
 18. The system of claim 15, wherein the media objectis one of an e-book, an audio book, a video file, an audio file, or avideo game.
 19. The system of claim 16, wherein the instructions whenexecuted cause the system to: determine respective weightings of thedetermined differences based at least in part upon the contextualinformation, the respective weightings indicating a relativesignificance of a respective difference.
 20. The system of claim 16,wherein the instructions when executed cause the system to: scan pagesof at least one of the current edition or the prior edition to obtain atleast a portion of the digital content for the current edition or thedigital content for the prior edition.